Six artefacts that were taken from Sri Lanka by the Dutch during colonial times will be returned to the Colombo National Museum. The artefacts are Lewke’s cannon (the cannon of Kandy), a gold and a silver kasthãné (ceremonial sword), a Sinhalese knife and two firearms.
Returning antique cultural artefacts is a delicate and demanding process. The decision to return them was made by Dutch Secretary of State for Culture and Media Gunay Uslu, following the recommendations of the Dutch Advisory Committee on the Return of Cultural Objects from a Colonial Context.
The announcement that the Netherlands is returning artefacts has raised questions with some Sri Lankan people. What is the reason for this new policy of the Netherlands? And does the Dutch Government want to do more to reconcile with its colonial past in Sri Lanka?
In this article I will explain that for the Netherlands Government, restitution is about much more than just returning six artefacts. It is about recognising our colonial history in order to build towards a common future with Sri Lanka. A future that is just and equal.
Historical ties
The long historical ties between Sri Lanka and the Netherlands date back from when the Dutch arrived on the island in the 16th century.
For two centuries, the Dutch ruled over a part of the island. Knowledge of our shared past has faded in Sri Lanka as well as in the Netherlands, while there is a less talked about, darker side to our colonial rule. This was a rule in which our ancestors oppressed the Sri Lankan people and deprived them of their resources and art.
I believe that history is not static but that historical science is a dynamic process. Although the past itself cannot be altered, our perspectives change constantly. Reclaiming our shared past through historical analyses is essential for our knowledge and understanding.
Including voices and viewpoints in our historical analyses that were ignored in the past can shed a different light on historical events now. It can alter our perceptions of history and even change the content of our history books. Similar to this, the Dutch perception of colonialism is changing.
During the last ten years, voices from the people in former Dutch colonies and Dutch citizens with roots in these colonies became louder, demanding a new, unbiased and non-discriminatory examination and reflection of our colonial history. These groups, together with cultural institutions and civil society from the Global South as well as from the Netherlands, put pressure on the Dutch Government to reflect and take accountability.
It shed light on the injustices of the practice of colonialism and the remaining evidence of it in our cultural institutions and state collection. It is through the eyes of others we now know and see a more comprehensive history, one that tells a much completer story than the one we were taught in school and university.
The Dutch Government now realises that it has a moral responsibility concerning the collections from a colonial context. However, this is more than just a gesture of goodwill. Helping Sri Lanka reclaim its heritage, also helps the Netherlands to reconsider its problematic role in certain parts of its history.
This process is about looking critically at our own history and reflecting on it. The Netherlands Government believes that returning objects is just one element of undoing the wrongs of the past.
Playing a constructive role in your country and actively cooperating to rediscover our shared heritage, is another element. We intend to continue cooperation in the field of heritage and museum cooperation and hope to bring Sri Lankan and Dutch researchers together to do more provenance research in the near future.
Even more important than returning stolen cultural objects, is addressing how unequal power relations in the past have perpetuated in unequal relations today. Through reconciling with our problematic past as a former colonial ruler of coastal Sri Lanka, the Netherlands too aims to re-establish the bilateral relationship.
By analysing our shared past and including different perspectives, we can draw lessons from it and open a new chapter in the relationship between Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. Acknowledging and taking accountability for our past wrongs goes hand in hand with a sincere felt obligation to build a strong, just and equitable relationship between our countries for the future.
New chapter
By returning the artefacts, the Dutch Government also would like to open a new chapter of cultural cooperation with Sri Lanka. We do not solely want to reflect on our long shared past, but also want to look ahead to a shared future. Like Dutch State Secretary, Gunay Uslu said during her visit to Sri Lanka in August: “We are not only returning objects, we are also embarking on a period of closer cooperation in areas like collection research, presentation and exchanges between museums.”
Our Governments, museums, and universities are already working together to this effect. The return of these six artefacts is just the start of what we hope to be a long-term cooperation. We hope it will provide a basis for us to improve our relations by striving for transparency, reconciliation and justice. And even more, we want to learn from the extraordinary cultural melting pot that is Sri Lanka and the expansive knowledge it possesses.
The artefacts should never have been in the Netherlands. They are Sri Lankan, as they always were Sri Lankan. Having said that, I know that the artefacts will be in good hands in Sri Lanka. The artefacts will be physically handed over to the Colombo National Museum in early December.
To mark the occasion, the Colombo National Museum will host a special two-day event on December 5 and 6. The event will provide activities that will educate young and old about the history shared between Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.
